Pool company recommendations
 

Hello. We have recently purchased a home in Marsh Bend and are planning to have a pool installed. Could anyone recommend a pool company that you have been happy with? We are moving from Colorado. Thanks in advance. Heidi

T&D is by far the best. They have the crews, don't over promise, and meet their schedules. Take a drive around and you will see a handful of pools under construction by other companies, some are taking 3, 4, 5 or more months to build with lots of excuses mixed in for the reason for the delays.

I got quotes from 8 different pool builders when I had mine installed. Some were like dealing with a used car dealer, when I had a question about price one builder told me "Don't worry about it, you're a villager, you can afford it" (they didn't get my business). Only one was complete, 100% turnkey, T&D, they took care of everything.

I was a construction project manager working in Gainsville at Shands hospital when we decided to put a pool in, and the last thing I wanted to do was be a project manager when I got home and have to chase down and coordinate subcontractors. Didn't have to, T&D took care of it all.

I signed the final check for the pool 2 days before hurricane Irma hit and got to enjoy it for 2 days before the world turned upside down. Fortunately, nothing happened to the pool, or birdcage, or solar panels during the storm. They called the day after the storm and asked if we were OK and if there was any damage to the pool that needed to be taken care of.

Great people to work with!

Agree with GWN on T&D.

T&D has a long backlog to start - BUT be patient. Once the start digging, they are done in 2-3 months. My case, first shovel in ground early May, we were swimming July 4 weekend.

Drive around, you’ll see holes in the ground for months (like 8 to 12 months).
Other companies start faster/sooner, but you have a construction zone in your back yard form a year.

There are positive stories about the other pool companies, but I did not want to roll the dice.

Premier pools and Cody pools have multiple projects on just a few blocks. Always get multiple quotes. The issue for TD is year long wait time. A year ago they quoted 2 years to start. Then offered to move up to Jan 2024. Too long for me.

I have had pools installed at my last 3 homes over the past 30 years and have maintained all of them myself.

I had an estimate from T&D. They were $20K more than the company we went with, and all of the equipment they speced out was out of date (not what was being currently sold by Hayward), and undersized for my pool. By that I mean it was sized for the minimum requirements for the pool, but the FL sun is hard on pools. You really want an oversized filter and SWG.

When I asked for similar sized equipment to the company I eventually went with they acted insulted, and the difference became $30K. My pool installation was delayed over 2 months while I waited on an estimate from them.

I did my pool project backwards... we installed the bird cage (1,300 sq ft) and poured concrete. A year later we decided we wanted a pool. Out of the list below, only the top 3 would even provide a quote that didn't involve them taking down the bird cage and putting up a new one. Between the cage and the canvas covering, I had over $40K tied up and didn't want to do that.

If I had to do it over again, I would do it all at once - it's way cheaper. The pool company doesn't have to use special equipment for excavation and removal, and they don't charge nearly as much for the cage - they've already made their profit on the pool. Premier does do cages, and the ones I have seen they did a great job on. I would go with one company to do everything.

Here is my list of installers, listed in groups of what I call Tier One and Tier Two:

Tier One
1 Premier Pools of Central FL (Garret Trefcer 407-718-0132)
2 Waterman Home Construction (352-669-1033)
3 T&D (They had a long wait even for estimates, and came in at $30K over #1)

Tier Two
1 Yandles Splash Time Pools
2 Outback Pools
3 All Seasons Pool
4 Fiesta Pools Fiesta Pools of Ocala, Inc.

Two installers I would stay away from are Wiseman and Staycations Pools... and honestly anyone not on the list above. I researched these companies heavily on reviews and the BBB. Wiseman takes forever and has been known to leave folks in the lurch with issues from the installation. Staycation takes forever as well. I know of a pool near us that was started when ours was. Ours was finished in 14 weeks, theirs was still in process a year later. I have a friend in the Fenny area that just put in a pool from Premier, and their neighbor went with Staycation. My friends was finished 6 months ago - Staycation is still working on the neighbors pool. In addition, the slab was not poured square, and the infinity edge is not level - I have no idea how they could address these issues without starting over.

The top 2 are far better rated than the other 5. I almost went with Waterman, but Premier suggested the use of pavers to hide the old concrete, and their cost was a little lower than Waterman. T&D builds a good pool, but tends to use minimal sized equipment, uses older automation, and was a lot more $$'s than either 1 or 2.

Do's and Don'ts when looking at a pool from ANY builder.

Do's
Do Get autofill/drain (This is a must have here in FL)
Do Replace dual drains with Channel Drain
Do Install handrail at build time
Do Get a robot to clean pool and sidewalls (Buy on your own after install)
Do Ensure salt cell is rated for 2x pool size
Do get largest available heat pump (140K) (if going with heat pump)
Do Get a water line run near equipment pad
Do Get a light installed over the equipment pad
Do Get full automation
Do Make sure pump is Variable Speed
Do Go with a larger filter (300-400 sq ft)

Don'ts
Don't Give final payment until pool is operational (If you can get builder to agree - most won't)
Don't install suction return line

While your pool is being installed, check out the TroubleFree pool site. This site provides great info on how to care for your pool - even if you don't want to maintain it, it helps to understand what should be checked and why.

I am considering a pool in the future as well.

I have witnessed at least three pools by Sparkling Waters taking over a year to complete.

I see a Staycation pool taking a long time.

I currently see two Blue Moon pools going up rather quickly. I saw a Fiesta pool go up rather quickly.

I saw two T&D pools jackhammered up. I knew one was due to the finish failing and they talked the homeowner into spending more money for a better finish and an expensive maintenance contract. That doesn't seem like the best customer service if you ask me.

Just my recent observations for what they are worth.

Agree, T&D started staging to build ours a couple days before Irma hit. After the storm they started digging and hit the high water table quickly. I thought they would never get a pool in that mud hole but they installed a network of drainage pipes and brought in sump pumps and pumped the water into the preserve behind our house day one, dug the hole day two, put in the pool wall frame and rebar, plumbing, and had the inspection all done on the morning of day two. That same afternoon they brought in the concrete trucks and shot the pool shell during the afternoon. They brought in large crews like clockwork for each specific segment of the job and had the inspector waiting between jobs. I watched the whole process in amazement. I don’t think there is another company with the resources to pull that off so quickly. There is a reason they can charge top dollar and have long wait times, they are the best. Our final product was turnkey and we are very happy with everything. When the project was seemingly completed a woman came in and did a meticulously comprehensive inspection and created a detailed punch list. Several crews came back and fixed small imperfections that I never noticed, it was very impressive indeed.

T&D construction is top notch. The downside with T&D is that they sold their pool services operation to Patriot Pools. Patriot Pools sucks out loud. So if you have T&D build your pool, be prepared to hire an independent service company or do it yourself.

We used All Seasons and had a horrible experience. Have been replacing every piece of equipment and the finish and it’s only been 5 years!

T&D 13 months for first appointment, and 24 months before start. We are using Fiesta, family owned, workers have been with them10 to 20 years. 12-14 weeks to complete.

TV has over 100 pools. Less headache and less expense.

T&D are now doing pool maintenance again.
 

They are very expensive but very good so far.

We went to the Seniors vs. Crimes office in Brownwood to ask about pool companies with complaints from customers. They listed Modern Pools, Staycation, and Sparkling as the worst offenders.

T&D Pool and Patio
 

T&D Pool and Patio built our pool and two others on our street. They've done other pool work for us and neighbors too. Never, never any problems. Their work is first class. Done right and on time. They also did the installation of solar panels for pool heating and they did a great job on that as well. It's worthwhile to check them out.

We're currently having a pool installed by Blue Moon. By far the best in our opinion. We waited a year to talk to T&D, when we finally got our appointment we found they only want to do a set defined limited options of decks and tile. Plus, their prices were the most expensive. For instance, they ONLY wanted to do stamped concrete, and no water features and they were still more expensive. We talked to Blue Moon, got travertine decking, upgraded tile, a spa, for about 15K less than a standard T&D pool. So far they have been very quick in building. Can't recommend them enough!

Warning, over the past few years EVERY pool company has experienced supply issues so don't go by what a review was 1-2 years ago. We encountered very little delay in getting the exact tile we wanted (maybe 1-2 weeks) that really didn't slow us down. I We broke ground in mid Feb and should be swimming in May-June? For the price savings and upgrades over T&D it's well worth it.

Yandles Splash Time Pools was the installer. Can't comment on the process as I'm not the original owner, but it has definitely stood the test of time. Highly customed and with tiers and waterfalls and a spa. I've talked with owners that have customized T&D pools, and they are very happy also. Its too bad that they have limited their choices. But that seems to be the norm nowadays.